How to Apply for a Vietnam Visa: Steps, Official Fees and What to Do in an Emergency

This guide follows the order in which you'll do things: check whether you need a visa, choose the right type, fill in the form without mistakes, pay, then react if your departure is close or the answer is slow to come. The amounts quoted are Vietnam's official fees, with their source.

01Do You Actually Need a Visa?

Before doing anything, check your nationality:

• French, German, Italian, Spanish, British, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Japanese, South Korean and Russian citizens can enter visa-free for a stay of up to 45 days, for any purpose, until March 14, 2028 (Resolution 44/NQ-CP, as reported by the Embassy of Vietnam in Japan). According to France Diplomatie (page updated on September 15, 2026), the days of entry and exit are counted, and your passport must be valid for at least six months on entry. Beyond 45 days, a visa is required.
• Belgian, Swiss and other European citizens: several countries were added to the exemption list in 2025 through separate resolutions, each with its own end date. Check your foreign ministry's page before you leave.
• Canadian, Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Senegalese, Ivorian, American and Australian citizens: you need a visa from day one. Our guides to the Vietnam visa for Canadians and the Vietnam visa for Moroccans cover what's specific to those two countries.

What counts is the nationality on your passport, not the country where you live: a Moroccan citizen living in Lyon has to apply for a visa.

02Which Visa Should You Apply For?

Since August 15, 2023, the e-visa has been open to citizens of all countries and territories, for up to 90 days, single or multiple entry (Resolution 127/NQ-CP). That covers the vast majority of travelers.

03Applying for the E-Visa Step by Step

1. Go to the Right Website

The official portal is evisa.gov.vn (mirror address: thithucdientu.gov.vn), run by the Immigration Department of Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security. The old address, evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn, is still active. All three end in .gov.vn: that's the only reliable test. The sponsored results at the top of Google are very often private services. Our article official website or private service shows how to tell them apart.

2. Prepare Your Files

• A recent passport-style photo, facing forward, without glasses, on a light background, well lit.
• Your passport's photo page, scanned or photographed flat, complete, legible, with no glare.
• A passport valid for at least six months after entry. Canada even recommends six months after the date you leave Vietnam for its citizens.

3. Fill In the Form

The fields to watch:

• Surname and given names exactly as they appear in the passport's machine-readable zone (the two lines at the bottom of the photo page).
• Passport number and expiry date: a single mistake makes the visa unusable.
• Intended date of entry: the visa is valid for a specific period; you can't enter before the start date.
• Port of entry: the airport or border crossing you list must match where you actually arrive.
• Single or multiple entry: can't be changed after payment.

4. Pay the Fee

Payment is made by bank card in US dollars. If the payment fails, check with your bank that online payments abroad are allowed before trying again. Keep the application code shown after payment: you'll use it to track your application and download the visa.

5. Track and Download Your Visa

You track your application on the portal with your application code, email address and date of birth. Once it's approved, download the e-visa as a PDF, check every line (name, passport number, dates, port of entry), print it and keep a copy on your phone.

04Official Vietnam Visa Fees in 2026

The fees are set by Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC from Vietnam's Ministry of Finance, dated March 27, 2026 and in force since April 1, 2026. It replaces Circulars 25/2021 and 62/2023. Amounts as of September 23, 2026:

Three useful notes:

• Fees are not refunded if your application is refused or if you made a mistake on the form.
• A "visa price" higher than 25 or 50 USD shown on a website means it's a private service: the difference is its service fee, not a Vietnamese tax.
• Currency conversion into euros, Canadian dollars or dirhams is done by your bank at the day's rate, sometimes with foreign transaction fees.

05Processing Times: How Long Does It Take?

The law sets the processing time: immigration responds within 3 business days of receiving a complete application and the fee (Law 51/2019/QH14, Art. 16a). In practice, several factors stretch that out:

• business days are Vietnamese business days (Monday to Friday, excluding Vietnamese public holidays);
• Tết (Lunar New Year, late January or February), April 30, May 1 and September 2 close government offices for several days;
• a rejected photo or an inconsistency in the form sends the application back for correction.

Our recommendation: submit your application at least two weeks before departure, and even earlier around Tết.

06Urgent Vietnam Visa: What to Do If You're Leaving Soon

If your flight is less than a week away and you haven't done anything yet, here's the order in which to check things:

1. First, check whether you're exempt (see the list above). Many French travelers look for an "urgent visa" when they don't need one for a stay of under 45 days.
2. Apply immediately on the official portal if you have at least 3 Vietnamese business days ahead of you. The cost is still 25 or 50 USD.
3. Contact official support if you get stuck: foreigners@immigration.gov.vn or +84 24 3826 4026 (Embassy of Vietnam in Japan). It doesn't offer paid expedited processing, but it can unblock a payment or an incomplete application.
4. Consider a private service if the timeline is too short or you don't want to risk making a mistake. Some advertise short turnaround times in exchange for a service fee. None of them can force an immigration decision: be wary of promises of "guaranteed approval," which the Vietnamese authorities specifically list among the signs of a scam (VietnamPlus, July 26, 2026).
5. If nothing works, move your flight. Without a visa or a valid exemption, the airline will refuse to board you.

"Visa on Arrival" Is Not a Last-Minute Solution

The "visa on arrival" sold by agencies requires an approval letter issued in advance by Vietnamese immigration at the request of a sponsoring organization in Vietnam. The visa is then stamped at an international airport for the official fee. So it also requires a prior application, with its own processing time. For a tourist stay, the e-visa is simpler.

07Do It Yourself or Hand It Off?

Applying yourself on evisa.gov.vn costs the official price and is enough in most cases. Handing it off can make sense if you're in a hurry, if the portal rejects your card, or if you'd rather have someone check your application before it's sent. The full comparison, with the pros and cons of each option, is in our article Vietnam visa: official website or private service.

If you decide to hand it off, visa-vietnam.app (a private service; visa-vietnam.app is run by the same publisher as this site) submits the application for you. It isn't a government website, and its fees are added to the official fees listed above.

08After You Get It: Final Checks

• Travel with the passport you used to apply. If you change passports, the visa is no longer valid on the new one unless you go through a transfer procedure (5 USD according to Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC).
• Respect the end date: overstaying exposes you to a fine. To stay longer, see renewing your visa in Vietnam.
• If your application is refused, our article on the reasons a Vietnam visa gets refused will help you fix your application before resubmitting.

09Sources Consulted on September 23, 2026

• France Diplomatie, Vietnam: entry and stay
• Embassy of Vietnam in Japan: e-visa, exempt countries, official portal
• Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC on visa fees
• Law 51/2019/QH14 on the entry and residence of foreigners